Come follow the beauty and talent industry in Cleveland, Ohio through the eyes of Celebrity Makeup Artist Karen Siat Lauria

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September 27, 2012

The Girls of Gunrunner

Seven
years ago, I was contacted to be the stylist for the Gunrunner Calendar. Scott Weber is the owner of the store The Gunrunner in Burton, Ohio. A free
calendar goes out with all firearm orders filled and to U.S. Military. He does sell them for $10.00 as well. The calendar shows beautiful women sporting
firearms. I refer to this job as “Girls
and Guns.” No nudity is involved; just
sexy clothes. The best description of
this photo shoot is a Fredrick’s of Hollywood catalog gone “packing.” Scott works hard getting his best artillery
ready to showcase with the hope that the men actually notice the firearms and
want to purchase them.

The
first year I didn’t know what to expect but now, after my third calendar, I
have it down. Models are hired, wardrobe
is planned out, the set is arranged, and then hair and makeup are all done
before photos are taken. This year the
calendar will be cutting edge. Body paint
is replacing the wardrobe and the set will be super imposed. I did not perform the body painting. Instead artist Jo Anna Carrozzino of JZino
Body Art Services of N.J. painted four women for the 15 month calendar.

As
I got one of the models ready, I heard buzz about a “Bumble Bee.” Over and over I heard this. Finally I asked. “OK what the heck is a
Bumble Bee?” The model said, “Oh you
haven’t seen Transformers?” I said,
“NO.” Then, I started feeling pretty
blonde. She continued, “It is a
character in the movie.” Now all the talk made sense to me. It took four HOURS of body paint in order to
transform the model into Bumble Bee. My
part was doing sexy makeup and hair. I also had an assistant, Sue Possen, to
help create the magic of the two day shoot.

Twelve
years in the running, Scott has done this promotion. It started off by using
friends and family as talent and now has progressed into hiring models from
talent agencies. In his store front
windows are blown up images displaying the Girls of Gunrunner. One year he made national news because the
townspeople felt the window
display was too racy. They
petitioned the local government officials to force Scott to take them
down. Ultimately, Scott did not remove
the photos because they did not violate any city ordinances. Needless to say, when you head through
Burton, you can’t miss his store.

I had a
fun day overall. The models and crew
were a joy to work with on this shoot.
Calendars will be available in November right before Thanksgiving. So if you are a firearm enthusiast or just
curious, I suggest you check it out.